1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ultrasonic thickness gauges and more specifically to an ultrasonic thickness gauge having an automatic transducer recognition feature which permits the gauge to automatically and properly adjust various pertinent electronic parameters within the gauge to achieve optimum performance for the particular transducer recognized.
2. Prior Art
One of the major disadvantages of prior art ultrasonic thickness gauges has been the need for the operator to properly select controls and control parameters for the particular transducer selected for a given gauging application. The numerous types of ultrasonic thickness gauging applications which exist require a variety of different transducer designs in order to provide satisfactory performance of the gauge. In an attempt to maintain relatively simplistic operation of ultrasonic thickness gauges for typically non-technical operator, manufacturers of prior art ultrasonic thickness gauges have generally compromised gauge performance and versatility by offering only a few different transducers with their gauges. Some gauge designs offer the ability to manually adjust internal electronic controls to permit the gauge to function with a "non-standard" transducer. However, this internal adjustment must usually be performed by a technical specialist, thus creating a major inconvenience. Furthermore, after such adjustment, the gauge will no longer operate at peak performance with the standard probes or transducers unless again readjusted by the technical specialist.
One attempt to overcome this problem to a minor degree that is practiced by several manufacturers of ultrasonic thickness gauges, involves provision for automatically adjusting only the thickness range and decimal point position setting of the gauges by means of a multiple-pin-keyed connector on the gauge end of the transducer cable. However, this is a less than satisfactory solution because a special transducer cable connector is required and because it is still possible to connect the wrong transducer to the other end of the cable thereby detrimentally affecting the performance of the gauge. Equally important, this scheme is not practical to address a host of other settings and adjustments actually necessary to enhance performance.
There has therefore been a long felt need for an ultrasonic thickness gauge which is provided for use with a wide variety of different transducers and which can automatically adjust gauge performance parameters to optimally accommodate the particular transducer selected without requiring that the operator have any special skill or knowledge to make such adjustments manually.